Samsung Not Interested in Settlement with Apple over Patent Issues

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With Apple and HTC having announced a settlement in their patent dispute, some observers have wondered whether the move could signal the beginning of a broader effort to resolve such issues throughout the industry. Apple and a number of Android device manufacturers such as HTC have been locked in court battles over their intellectual property for the past several years.

Samsung has rapidly risen to become the dominant Android device manufacturer and Apple's most significant foe in both the courtroom and the marketplace, but AFP reports that Samsung has "no such intention" of settling with Apple.

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"We have no such intention," J.K. Shin, the head of Samsung Electronics' mobile unit, told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Samsung would seek a similar settlement.

"It may be true that HTC may have agreed to pay 300 billion won (US$276 million) to Apple, but we don't intend to (negotiate) at all," Shin Jong-kyun, who heads the South Korean tech giant's mobile and IT division, told reporters. [...]

While the terms of the settlement were undisclosed, market watchers speculate HTC will pay between $6 to $8 per phone, which would amount to $180 million to $280 million a year.

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The patent battle between Apple and Samsung is already being played out in courtrooms around the world, with Apple's most significant victory in the series being a $1 billion verdict against Samsung in the United States. Not all of the cases have gone Apple's way, however, with one of the most visible defeats having been in the United Kingdom where Apple was ordered to post public acknowledgements that Samsung had not infringed upon Apple's registered design for the iPad.

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Samsung has the money for lawyers. They are larger than HTC, and can afford the fight. I must say though, Apple is becoming a patent troll. On some issues, I side with Apple, but these other claims are absurd.

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Samsung has the money for lawyers. They are larger than HTC, and can afford the fight. I must say though, Apple is becoming a patent troll. On some issues, I side with Apple, but these other claims are absurd.

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A patent troll is someone who sits on their patents without practicing them and then sues someone who attempts to use the patented method or technology. You may think apple is overly litigious, but they do practice their own patents, so they are not a troll.

macrumors regular

Why don't they just invest the budget for legal fees on to R&D, come up with a new product and beat Apple? Guess they're just incapable of doing so.

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Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note II have already blown iPhone 5 out of the water, of course I know Apple fanbois are not going to admit this.

So if Apple reinvented "Smartphone", why can't the others follow the trend? Please think about this, Edison owned GE, and what would happen if he never allowed any others to open a power station? Do you think we will have hundreds of electrical appliances being used at home today if Edison acted just like Apple today? Simple!

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There's no 1B to get back. Nothing has been paid to Apple. The case in Appeals. I've never seen so many people not understand this.

As for HTC/Samsung. HTC has a lot of financial problems right now and they couldn't risk the lawsuits and future legal issues. It was a smart move for THEM.

Samsung has deep pockets. They don't really need to back down. In the end - they will either pay the fine and license the tech. Or just keep fighting in court while producing their goods with judgements taking YEARS to settle.

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My money is still on Apple - I don't trust a washing machine manufacturer as a phone maker.

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I wonder if we could wash Apple Socks in a Samsung Washing Machine.

And the word "settlement" sounds like some compromise between two parties. That sounds very good. Why would anyone not want to settle? However, by using HTC as an example of a "settlement", it's defining it as the non-Apple party paying Apple. If anyone would like to "settle" with me by sending me several hundred million dollars as you sell your stuff, PM me and I'll give you the address for your "settlement" checks.

Not all of these legal actions is Apple vs. others. Some of them are others vs. Apple. Where Apple vs. others might imply that others would need to pay something to Apple to "settle", Others vs. Apple would imply just the opposite. Point? If Apple vs. HTC is "settled" by HTC giving Apple $300M, Others vs. Apple would seemingly "settle" by Apple giving Others $___M too. If Apple is on the receiving end of every "settlement," then it's not really a settlement in terms of the usual objective definition of the term. In fact, I would frame it more like a divorce "settlement" where one spouse get most/all of the assets and the other gets a piece of paper that says they are no longer married.

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Samsung won't go away like HTC, sadly. And like another poster said, they have the funds to keep fighting.

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Why is it sad? It's a good thing that somebody stands up to Apple. I do agree that hearing about it every day is a bit annoying but if something good comes out of it and makes Apple less of a bully - then so be it.

Why don't they just invest the budget for legal fees on to R&D, come up with a new product and beat Apple? Guess they're just incapable of doing so.

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There are lots of reasons. One, it might be a matter of principal by now. Two, you don't let Apple bully you into submission. If they become successful at it, they'll create lots of precedent and continue doing it. Stopping them earlier is going to be easier than trying to stop them down the road.

Then of course there is billions of dollars lost when they'll have to pay fees to Apple from every phone sold. It's not like Apple's hurting for cash, they're just greedy. Btw, HTC is purely pathetic. I had an HTC phone and hated with a passion but now I see the company is not just sad in engineering sense but in integrity sense as well. I'll make sure to avoid buying any of their products as much as possible.

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Please think about this, Edison owned GE, and what would happen if he never allowed any others to open a power station? Do you think we will have hundreds of electrical appliances being used at home today if Edison acted just like Apple today? Simple!

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Had Edison won the war, we would NOT have hundreds of electrical appliances being used at home. Edison lost to Westinghouse and Tesla. Look it up.

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